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Seattle Symphony に New Music Director [音楽時評]

James Levine が Boston Symphony と Met Opera の Music Director を続けられるかどうかが取りざたされている中で,かつてBoston Symphony のAssistant Director を2004~2007の間勤めたyoung Frenchman Ludovic Morlot(36)が,前任者 Gerard Schwarzの後を継いで,2011年秋からSeattle SymphonyのMusic Directorに就任することに決まったそうです.

Gerard Schwarz は26年間の在任中,飛躍的にSeattle Symphony の演奏水準を引き揚げ,San Francisco Symphony や Los Angels Philharmonic に並ぶところまで向上させたといわれます.ただ,小澤征爾の29年間に次ぐ長期政権が,ここ数年,問題を起こしていたのですが,きちんと収束され,Schwarz は,小澤の悪例とは無縁に,2011年退職時にwill become conductor laureate が決まっています.小澤はようやく数年後にTanglewood で Muisc Director laureate を獲得したことと対比されます.

つい先日,Big Five の一角,Philadelphia Orchestra のMusic Director に35歳のカナダ人Yannick Nézet-Séguin が決定したのと較べると,やや後れを取った感じがしないでもありません.しかし,全ては来年以降彼がどこまでSeattle のさらなるレベル・アップを図るかに掛かっているといえましょう.若いDudamel と競い合うのもよいのではないでしょうか.

これでMajor Orchestra のMusic Director が一通り落ち着いたといって,記事では列記しています.His appointment further stabilizes the music director lineup for major orchestras in the United States, with new leaders recently installed or appointed at the New York Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra (Christoph Eschenbach) in Washington and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra(Leonard Slatkin). The music directors of the Cleveland Orchestra and the San Francisco Symphony are not going anywhere soon. One major question remains: whether James Levine’s health problems will allow him to remain at the Boston Symphony.  
とありますが,James Levine の快復待ちということでしょう.

別にこのblog で私が取り上げてきた注目株を上げますと,Dallas Symphony のJaap van Zweden, Minnesota Orchestraの Osmo Vänskä, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra の Marin Alsop などが挙げられます.

Ludovic Morlot は代役を無難にこなして名を挙げてきた人です.Levine によってBoston のAssistant になり,Seiji とLevine,さらにはBernard Haitink から多くを学んだといいます.

そして彼を一躍表舞台に出すことになったのは,in March 2006, when Christoph von Dohnanyi, who was to have conducted the New York Philharmonic, withdrew from the engagement. The program included a difficult work by Elliott Carter, “Allegro Scorrevole,” which few conductors know and is a tough piece to learn at short notice. It happened that the Boston Symphony had recently performed it, so Mr. Morlot knew the score. And as a violinist, he was well acquainted with another work on the program, Brahms’s Violin Concerto.
The performance was a success, and the Philharmonic quickly invited Mr. Morlot back. というキッカケでした.

A last-minute substitution for Riccardo Muti at the Chicago Symphony came later that year, and soon further engagements to conduct major orchestras flowed in. One came from Seattle last October, followed by another visit in April.
ですが,これがアイスランド火山爆発で飛行機がストレートに飛ばず,シアトルに着いたのは演奏前日になったそうです.そこで演奏会当日2回のリハーサルで本番に望み,幸い演奏は好評を博したといいます.それが直接今回のMusic Director 契約に繋がったといいますが,記事のタイトルにMaestro of Skill and Luck とあるのは,その辺の事情を挙げているのだと思われます.

あとはどうぞご自由にご渉猟下さい.

 

Seattle Gets a Maestro of Skill and Luck

The road to conducting fame can follow many routes but usually has one or two crucial elements: a lucky last-minute substitution at a major orchestra; an influential mentor; reasonable doses of talent and charisma. All of those came together for the young Frenchman Ludovic Morlot, who will become the next music director of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra.

Julieta Cervantes for The New York Times

Ludovic Morlot will succeed Gerard Schwarz as conductor of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra.

Mr. Morlot’s appointment was disclosed on Tuesday, ending speculation about the end of an unusually long and, in later years, turbulent reign by Gerard Schwarz. Mr. Schwarz will step down at the end of next season after 26 years as music director, and Mr. Morlot will assume the mantle in the fall of 2011 with a six-year contract.

His appointment further stabilizes the music director lineup for major orchestras in the United States, with new leaders recently installed or appointed at the New York Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. The music directors of the Cleveland Orchestra and the San Francisco Symphony are not going anywhere soon. One major question remains: whether James Levine’s health problems will allow him to remain at the Boston Symphony.

Mr. Levine is to some degree responsible for the emergence of Mr. Morlot, 36, who has come to be considered one of the few prized conducting properties in circulation. (The 35-year-old Canadian Yannick Nézet-Séguin, recently snapped up by the Philadelphia Orchestra, was another.) Mr. Levine hired Mr. Morlot as an assistant conductor in Boston, where he held the post from 2004 to 2007.

“I was sitting in all of his rehearsals in Boston for three years,” Mr. Morlot said in a telephone interview from Morocco, where he was vacationing. “He was a big influence on me, as was Seiji,” he added, referring to Mr. Levine’s predecessor Seiji Ozawa.

Born in Lyons, France, Mr. Morlot studied violin at the University of Montreal and conducting at the Royal Academy of Music in London. He applied to the Boston Symphony’s Tanglewood Festival as a conducting fellow, auditioning for Mr. Ozawa, and was the only one chosen. Mr. Morlot also cites Bernard Haitink, who often conducted in Boston, as an influence.

His breakthrough moment came in March 2006, when Christoph von Dohnanyi, who was to have conducted the New York Philharmonic, withdrew from the engagement. The program included a difficult work by Elliott Carter, “Allegro Scorrevole,” which few conductors know and is a tough piece to learn at short notice. It happened that the Boston Symphony had recently performed it, so Mr. Morlot knew the score. And as a violinist, he was well acquainted with another work on the program, Brahms’s Violin Concerto.

The performance was a success, and the Philharmonic quickly invited Mr. Morlot back. “We said, ‘This boy is going to go far,’ ” said Zarin Mehta, the Philharmonic’s president.

A last-minute substitution for Riccardo Muti at the Chicago Symphony came later that year, and soon further engagements to conduct major orchestras flowed in. One came from Seattle last October, followed by another visit in April.

On the April trip, because of a travel delay caused by the volcano in Iceland, Mr. Morlot arrived the night before the concert, had two rehearsals the next day and then the concert in the evening.

“I was completely fried,” he said. But a strong reception by the musicians and the audience apparently sealed the deal.

Although Mr. Morlot has won positive reviews and is in high demand as a guest conductor, Seattle is taking something of a risk, because he has never had an orchestra of his own. Mr. Morlot said he felt no fear about that, “just pure excitement.”

“The music is ultimately going to be the biggest challenge for me,” he added. “That’s the way I want to look at it.”

Several players in the orchestras he has led described Mr. Morlot as a thoughtful, intuitive musician with a good sense of phrasing and a collaborative manner. With another conductor, it’s often “a display of mutual admiration between him and God,” said Eugene Izotov, the principal oboist of the Chicago Symphony, who played Mozart’s Oboe Concerto with Mr. Morlot. “He’s definitely not one of those people. He puts the music first.”

The Seattle Symphony made major strides under Mr. Schwarz, acquiring a reputation as a fine ensemble, producing numerous recordings, building its endowment and moving into the highly praised Benaroya Hall.

But several years ago the orchestra went through a dysfunctional period, including lawsuits by musicians, accusations of vandalism directed at players and open factionalism, with Mr. Schwarz at the center of the discord.

Matters appear to have calmed. Mr. Schwarz, who announced his departure early this year, will become conductor laureate.

Mr. Morlot said he was unconcerned with the history.

“I’m just conscious about creating my own relationship with the group,” he said, adding that a long tenure like that of Mr. Schwarz was valuable. “But at the same time something is missing. When the same leadership has been going on a long time, it’s really quite refreshing to be able to explore.”

In recent years the Seattle Symphony has appeared to lose momentum as its fellow West Coast heavy hitters, the San Francisco Symphony and Los Angeles Philharmonic, have acquired luster. With Mr. Schwarz’s departure, the Seattle Symphony sees a chance to move forward, said Timothy R. Hale, a violist in the orchestra and the leader of the musicians’ union. One hope, Mr. Hale said, was that of more touring, given Mr. Morlot’s international connections.

“Schwarz definitely brought the orchestra to a higher level during his tenure, and now we’re looking to the next step,” he said. “We want someone to challenge us the way we haven’t been challenged.”


nice!(1)  コメント(2)  トラックバック(0) 
共通テーマ:音楽

nice! 1

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1音楽ファン

相変わらず小沢氏をこき下ろしているな、
世間からまったく認めてもらえない者が何を言おうが小沢氏にはかなわんよ。恨むのもいい加減にしないとみっともないぞ。
使えない東大出よ!
東大は使えないのが多いな。
俺の周りは実に使える京大が多いがな。
お前さん匿名のつもりらしいが、あるサイトで実名でさらされてるよ。
いい笑いものだぜ。
小沢と名指しにするなら自分も名乗れよ、姑息なやつだな!
陰湿で粘着するあたり女じみている。
そのうち小沢氏から訴えられるぞ。
大きな責任を負わされるかも!
by 1音楽ファン (2010-07-01 12:41) 

shoshino

随分と脅迫まがいのひどい文章ですね.友人達がネット・サーフィン中に見たことのある文章だといっていますが,ここでは特定はやめておきましょう.

私は前後4年間ボストンで生活したときに,Boston Symphony 定期に通っていましたが,小澤が出演すると地元有力紙Boston Globe(New York Times 系列)紙が毎回酷評を載せていました.
それであれだけ長居した小澤さんはたいへん忍耐力のある人だと思いますから,私の事実の指摘をとやかくいうことはないと思いますよ.

それより,お前様の主張は私がブログをやめろということなのでしょうが,それはお断りします.
私は小澤征爾さんとは同病相憐れむ仲で,私のブログは先輩・後輩,友人,知己,元教え子達に,少なくとも音楽会にでかけたり,外国紙を渉猟するだけ元気だというシグナルとして書いているものだからです.
悪しからず.
by shoshino (2010-07-02 14:56) 

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